BIMI Email Authentication Mandate: A 5 Step Implementation Guide for Brands
Have you ever sent out an email and worried about its authenticity being questioned or worse, mistaken for a phishing attempt?
Nowadays, with an abundance of emails drowning our inboxes, it is no wonder brands face the peril of being lost in the crowd. Imagine your carefully constructed email drowning in the sea of spam or, worse, being mistaken for a phishing attack.
Here, the email authentication process acts as a beacon of trust and credibility.
Nevertheless, many of these traditional authentication methods fail to provide full-proof protection against emerging cyber threats.
This is where BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) comes into the picture. It’s a revolutionary way to confirm the relevance of an email concerning your brand visibility and credibility.
Anyway, why do brands care about BIMI?
Visualize your emails reaching the target customer’s inboxes, having the desired impact, getting noticed, and building trust right from the start. That’s what makes BIMI unique.
In this comprehensive guide, we explain BIMI and its importance to brands and provide a complete step by step implementation guide.
What is BIMI and How Does it Work?
Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is a contemporary email authentication protocol aiming to enhance email security and brand identification simultaneously.
BIMI boosts brands’ visibility by showing logos next to authenticated emails in the recipient’s inboxes. This visual clue assures recipients of email’s authenticity and reinforces brand identity.
So, what is the magic behind BIMI?
The technology uses existing email authentication standards, such as SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC, to confirm the sender domain’s authenticity.
This is how SPF works:
Benefits of Implementing BIMI
Implementing BIMI offers a myriad of benefits for brands looking to enhance their email communication and branding:
- Improved Brand Recognition: By presenting the brand logo along with authenticated emails, BIMI boosts brand image and raises recipients’ awareness of the brand’s products.
- Enhanced Email Security: Implementing BIMI introduces a new security measure by visually verifying the authenticity of emails, decreasing phishing and spoofing attacks.
- Increased Trust and Credibility: Recipients feel more confident when they see a company logo, which raises their degree of trust.
- Compliance with Industry Standards: Implementing BIMI shows the brand’s dedication to email authentication regulations and industry standards compliance, therefore increasing the brand’s reputation and trustworthiness in the eyes of the receptor.
Step-by-Step Implementation Guide
Step 1: Verifying Domain Ownership
Before embarking on the implementation process of BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification), you must verify the ownership of the domain that you use for your email marketing.
To verify domain ownership, follow these steps:
- Log in to your domain registrar’s or hosting provider’s account.
- Find domain verification settings or DNS management options.
- Select the verification option provided by the BIMI registrar, which is very likely to be a TXT record, or upload a verification file to your domain’s DNS settings.
- Complete the verification process according to the specific instructions provided by the registrar.
- After validating, move to the next step of BIMI implementation.
Step 2: Creating the DNS TXT Record
The next step is to create a DNS TXT (text) record for your domain. Follow these steps to create the DNS TXT record:
- Select your domain and selector:
- Note the “From:” domain (RFC5322) utilized in your email marketing. This is the domain where you create the DNS TXT record.
- Pick a selector name, which is a name that mailbox providers use to look up your BIMI record. Use the selector name “default” where possible.
- Create a DNS TXT record for the domain:
- Access your domain’s DNS management console.
- Create a TXT record with the name “_bimi” and put the location of your logo image as the value.
- Include other metadata required, e.g. Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) location file, if applicable.
- Save the changes to publish the BIMI record to your domain’s DNS.
- Make sure the records are correct using the online DNS lookup tools or BIMI validation services.
Step 3: Publishing Your Brand Logo
Now that the BIMI record is in place, your brand’s logo can be published at the specified location. Follow these guidelines to publish your brand logo for BIMI:
- Feature the logo image on your website or secure server that can be accessed via HTTPS.
- Make sure that the logo image complies with BIMI’s dimension and format requirements. (e.g., SVG format recommended).
- Add the BIMI record to your domain’s DNS by adding the exact URL (location) of your logo image.
- Test the accessibility of the logo by entering the URL in a browser to confirm that it loads correctly.
Step 4: Inserting the BIMI-Selector Header
If using a custom selector name, it’s essential to insert the BIMI-Selector header into your emails. Email headers ensure that the brand’s logo is displayed correctly alongside authenticated emails. Follow these steps to insert the BIMI-Selector header:
- Consult your technical team members or email service provider to decide the best method for inserting the BIMI-Selector header.
- Ensure the header has the correct syntax and that the “s=” value exactly matches the selector name in DNS.
Step 5: Testing BIMI Implementation
After completing the above steps, it’s crucial to thoroughly test BIMI implementation to ensure that your brand’s logo displays correctly alongside authenticated emails.
- Send test emails from your authenticated email accounts to various email clients and addresses.
- Verify that the brand logo displays correctly next to authenticated emails in supported email clients.
- Check for any formatting or display issues with the logo image, such as distortion or improper scaling.
- Use BIMI validation tools or services to verify the correctness of your BIMI setup and detect any errors or misconfigurations.
- Make necessary adjustments based on testing results to ensure optimal BIMI performance and reliability.
Importance of BIMI Email Authentication Mandate
Let’s examine BIMI’s significance and how it addresses crucial aspects of brand reputation and email security.
A. Enhancing Brand Trust and Recognition
Brand trust is the key to customer loyalty and engagement. BIMI plays a pivotal role in enhancing brand trust by providing visual cues that reassure recipients of the email’s authenticity.
As recipients see the familiar logo next to emails, they are more likely to open, engage with, and trust the content, ultimately strengthening brand-consumer relationships. According to a study, BIMI was found to enhance open rates by an average of 10%.
B. Improving Email Deliverability and Engagement
Email deliverability is a critical metric for any email marketing campaign. BIMI contributes to improved email deliverability by enhancing the credibility of emails and reducing the likelihood of being marked as spam or phishing attacks.
Additionally, email engagement signals a positive sender reputation to email service providers (ESPs), further improving deliverability and ensuring that future emails reach recipients’ inboxes.
C. Mitigating Risks of Phishing and Spoofing Attacks
Phishing and spoofing attacks pose significant threats to brands and recipients, highlighting the critical need for email fraud prevention measures like BIMI.
BIMI is a proactive defense mechanism against these threats by visually distinguishing legitimate emails from fraudulent ones.
This decreases the risk of falling victim to phishing attacks and helps protect the brand reputation from being tarnished by malicious actors impersonating the brand.
D. Adhering to Industry Standards and Regulations
In an ever-increasing regulated environment, brand compliance with industry standards and regulations is non-negotiable.
BIMI demonstrates a brand’s commitment to email authentication best practices and aligns with industry standards like DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance).
Importance of Hiring Experts for BIMI Implementation
Here’s why hiring experts at InboxCrayon for BIMI implementation is crucial for brands:
A. Specialized Knowledge and Expertise
BIMI implementation demands a deep understanding of email authentication protocols, DNS configurations, and brand identity management.
Experts possess specialized knowledge garnered through experience and training, allowing them to navigate the complexities of BIMI precisely.
B. Ensuring Accurate Setup and Configuration
When it comes to BIMI setup and configuration, the devil lies in the details. A minor misconfiguration can lead to ineffective authentication or even compromise email security.
Experts meticulously review every aspect of BIMI setup, from domain verification to logo publication, to ensure accuracy and compliance with BIMI standards.
C. Handling Technical Complexities Effectively
BIMI implementation involves a myriad of technical intricacies, including DNS management, SSL certificate installation, and logo optimization.
When faced with challenges such as DNS propagation or compatibility issues with email clients, experts employ proven strategies to address them swiftly and effectively, minimizing downtime and disruptions.
D. Saving Time and Resources for Brands
Time is of the essence in today’s fast-paced business environment. Implementing BIMI without expert assistance can take valuable time and resources that could be better dedicated to core business activities.
Moreover, experts streamline the implementation process, reducing time-to-market and accelerating the realization of BIMI’s benefits.
Don’t let BIMI implementation overwhelm you. Partner with us today to safeguard your brand’s email security and reputation while maximizing its impact. Contact us now to get started.